Push or Pull
by JL Wrighton
Summary: Obidala fic. What if Obi-Wan had been sent to guard Padme instead to Anakin in AotC? REVISED and renamed from "What if?" the title seemed kind of wrong, you know?


Padmé listened patiently, albeit annoyed with Chancellor Palpatine. She knew the danger, but the vote would affect her people, and they needed a voice. After excusing herself politely, she headed to the speeder level. These were basic transports, at the constant disposal of all the senators. She climbed in, backed up carefully and drove quickly to the Jedi temple. There, she parked and headed inside. Although she had no clue where anything was, her search was brought to a quick close when she found Yoda, hobbling along with his cane. "Senator? Why are you here?" She knelt before the little alien, smiling. "Master Yoda, I wish to speak with the Council. It concerns the two Jedi who are charged with my protection, Master Kenobi and Padawan Skywalker."

Yoda nodded, sensing her urgency. "Come with me, you must."

He led her to the Council's chamber, where most of them already were. She stepped into the center of the circle, addressing the Council. "I thank you for coming on such short notice. I am aware of time constraints and will be brief. I do not believe it is a wise choice to send Anakin with me to Naboo." Several looked confused, but she continued.

"He has shown, in the few moments that we've been together, that he harbors feelings of deep affection for me. I am already well aware of how dangerous such emotions can be to Jedi. I request that someone else go with me. Someone with no emotional attachment to me."

Yoda nodded, smiling in his own way. "Correct in this, you are, Senator. Take care of this matter immediately, we must. Tomorrow, someone else there will be to escort you to Naboo." She bowed gratefully. "I do not mean to bring discord to the Order. I am truly sorry for the inconvenience." A man leaned forward in his seat.

"To the contrary, this has been quite enlightening. We have debated for some time that young Skywalker may be dangerous, as he has shown to have emotions that Jedi deviate from, and your acceptance of this and willingness to assist us in bettering him is cheering."

She was later packing, with Dorme's assistance. Dorme was a dear, and had an amazing knack for fitting the necessities into packs. They decided to take everything with her back to Naboo, as it seemed she would not be returning. The travel would take a whole day, so they were setting off early in the morning. After considering who they could possibly be sending, Padmé chose a very simple, rugged outfit of blues and green, and no headdress, with her hair in a thick braid crown.

Anakin and Obi-Wan were also busy packing in their shared room. Obi-Wan's comm-link beeped and he jumped slightly at the sound.

Anakin was bursting with excitement to get to go back to Naboo, where he had been hailed as a hero for helping in the battle at the age of nine, and if possible, was even happier with getting to go back with Padmé. But in an effort to be mature, Anakin was being dead silent, and Obi-Wan couldn't think of anything to say. It beeped again and he moved to answer it.

"Obi-Wan speaking."

"This is Windu. We've decided that you will go to Naboo with the Senator and Skywalker will track down the killer. Please be ready to leave at 5 promptly. May the Force be with you." Obi-Wan turned off the link and glanced up at Anakin, who had gone rigid by his bed. It was as if someone had pulled all the light out of the room. "I'm sorry Anakin, I know you were looking forward to going. But." He added, "The Council must have confidence if they believe you can track down the assassin." Anakin sat down, sad and silent. "I'm sorry master, but I don't think I'm ready for something like this." Obi-Wan couldn't help feeling sorry for him, but he maintained a logical view. "You were saying the other day how much you hated always escorting people."

"Sure, but Padme's nice! And it's been so long since we've done something that wasn't hard. And you know keeping her safe will be a cakewalk. She never challenges the expectations and practically defends herself." Obi-Wan felt at quite a loss for what else and the rest of the evening was spent in uncomfortable silence.

The next morning Obi-Wan wished Anakin good luck and reminded him that he could be contacted at any time. He did not see Padme till after the ship took off. She was standing by the window, bracing herself against the speed of the aircraft. With his assistance, she sat down at the table in the back, spinning the chair till she could rest away fropm the gravitational pull. He stood at the doorway to the cockpit when he turned to her.

"Milady, I wish to inform you that you will have no impairments to your everyday life. My only wish is that you let me know before you go anywhere. I will not a bother while you are home." He had turned to go, but she stopped him. "Would you mind…staying for a little while? There are some things I'd like to talk to you about." He sat and talked to her, letting her forget the politics of the galaxy in favor of telling him about Naboo. He had not had much of a chance to see the planet and she had traveled over most of it during her two terms as queen. It wasn't until much later during dinner at her home that she brought up the subject of housing. "I had been thinking about going to the lake country, but I believe the queen and people need me." He nodded, resting his chin on his fists.

"Why the lake country?"

"It's a large valley with a lot of little lakes in it, but it's mostly summer villas. At this time of year, it's all but abandoned. Our family has one there." He nodded again. "Where will we be going instead?"

"There's quite a few places. Some miner's are considering rebelling, and I want to know why. It's a group of miner's I had to work with as a queen. They won't listen to Jamilla, but I believethey might approve of me."

He was like a very quiet shadow, but she found his help to be almost immeasurable. He could see reactions from a large group that she might miss, and advised her on how to precede with negotiations. Only once at the beginning did he have to make a move to protect her. Someone pulled a switchblade knife at a meeting, and in an instant, Obi-Wan was at her side, the knife floating in midair, spinning at Obi-Wan's command. He kept his other hand on her shoulder, and explained, in the politest of tones, that several attempts had been made on her life on Coruscant, and they would be understanding if he was a little on edge, being her protector and everything. She was grateful that the negotiations were quickly resolved.

Amongst other things, she went to the trade center's, browsing deep into the process of it. She poked into the back ways of Naboo to see the crowded housing, reporting back to the queen so that new homes could be built to replace crumbling buildings. She worked in the community centers of Naboo, crisscrossing the planet in a matter of weeks.

* * *

(Switch to Obi-Wan's POV)

It was wonderful to see his old friend again. No one had been stronger, and helped him more, at the beginning of his mourning of Qui-Gon. She had listened as he had felt so helpless, raged at why he hadn't been fast enough to prevent the man's death. And now, seeing her in action at the negotiations, he was impressed. She went straight into the mines heedless of the danger in going so far underground. He was right next to her the entire time. She worked alongside the miners for two weeks, sleeping in a small tent outside the mining entrance, eating her meals with them. Obi-Wan pitched in with them, and listened to what they talked about when they thought he couldn't hear them.

The miner's trusted her because she was like their kid sister, or for the younger ones, a big sister or mom. But to Obi-Wan, she was a diligent and kind friend to all, really caring, honestly listening to everything they told her. He couldn't help noticing that although she had a minimal time tospend at places, she made everyone feel like they were important to her. While she traveled, her family reported back that letters came from people everywhere, wanting her help and opinion. For a time it seemed that Padme had replaced Jamilla in the people's hearts as queen. She responded to what she could fix, forwarded more to other places where they could be made useful.  
She was incredible, with her capacity to love everyone the same. She did not always listen to the men and women in charge, instead working alongside the common laborers to find out what they thought. The subject came up one night as they were sending a report to the queen. "It's one of your greatest faults and virtues." He commented as he scanned the report from the Temple about Anakin's search so far.

"What do you mean?"

"You believe that there's good in everybody, and you give everyone many chances to prove themselves."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Yes and no, such an ability makes everyone trust and love you. But at the same time, it can blind you to their faults, and their evils."

"Like Anakin." He glanced up, surprised she thought of him too. "Well, yes." He admitted.

"You were the first girl who had ever taken care of him before his mother. He believes you to be the epiphany of all that a woman should ever be. But such an attachment, unfortunately, has not gone away with time. He speaks of you constantly." She looked down at her hands, ashamed. "I will not be responsible for pulling him to the Dark Side." His hand on hers made her look up, to his firm and gentle gaze. "Send."

"What?"

"Send him to the Dark Side, not pull him to it. For you to pull him to the dark side, you would already have to be there. And you milady, could never be of the Dark Side."

She smiled again. "I am glad he has friends like you to keep him grounded."

He moved back to his screen, glancing at her slightly. "Thank you milady."


End file.
